I have this amazing extended family - the Smylie's.
My amazing mother, Shelley, is the 5th child of Jane and David Smylie who had 8 children in total themselves - Chris, Andy, Stephen, Dinah, Shelley, Gerry, Sharon & Zaj. All my aunts & cousins are spread across Australia and the USA. I think in all there are about 121 Smylie members. Much of my family I have either never met or I only knew them as children before they moved away. For many years I would hear stories about the families overseas from Granny, Mum or Auntie Chris and never really felt connected to these individuals. I knew of them but never really knew them.
Now through technology I can reconnect with family both here and abroad. I find it truly amazing that I feel this sense of belonging to individuals that I have never met before - and it's all thanks to the Smylie name.
I love reading Sarah's blog about her beautiful girls, Grace & Ruby, and the antics they get up too. I really appreciated how she let us be apart of her pregnancy through her writings. I love reading Rebecca's blog about her beautiful family and their New York experiences. I love that Sarah L. let's us watch, from afar, her beautiful daughter Simeone grow up. I was so happy to see the beautiful pictures of Ariana's wedding. I love that Auntie Dinah has shared with us details of her new job and her move to warmer weather. I love that this afternoon I will meet Caitlin for the first time and already love her and know a little about her. I enjoy still being able to keep in touch with Kate and her beautiful family in between her visits back home. Learn about Amelia and Andre's preference to travel in the country. Connect and relate to my sister in a way I never have before. I am truly enjoying discovering everyone's talents, their likes and dislikes, and reading about this ever growing family (through marriages and births).
I laugh thinking that it's always left up to the women in our family to connect with each other. Thank you for letting me share your lives from a distant.
I hope to someday meet you all in person but if not we are truly blessed to know that we are all an eternal family that will one day be able to embrace each other. xx
5 comments:
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Hey Christie
I works both ways. I too have enjoyed watching the kids overseas grow but at the same time have enjoyed hearing of yours and the other cousins experiences here in OZ.
As for the women doing all the "talking"... well what else is new. :)
That was lovely. i feel the same. It would be a dream come true to actually travel to australia someday with my family to meet all my family there. Until that day, i am so glad you all post your photos and thoughts for me to read.
i love you.
Rachel
when the lottery gets really big, not that we play, and the conversations turn to "what would you do with it all?" my first thought is always that i would pay for all our families to gather for a family reunion, of mammoth proportion, in australia, or sometimes i think ireland...and then i spend the next hour imagining what that would be like, how incredibly amazing that would be. of course i soon remind myself that life doesn't really hand out those fantasy deals, and so i will myself to settle for, and be happy about, the very real blessing of these blogs...filled with family pictures and seemingly simple stories of the everyday that somehow to translate into wonderful tales of love, and commitment, the absurd realities of life, and that we can each see ourselves in each others lives. and like any good story i am always left wanting and waiting for more.
thanks kristie, i love you, sharry.
I love it too! I was just chuckling as I was reading the story of you locking yourself in the bathroom for 'me' time! What a great story, from the other side of the world, that I can relate to SO well. Good to know you Kristie. Hope this continues on!
xoxo
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